Of wild food and spring preparations

We've been having a little helper with us again, Addie from California, although we haven't quite agreed what we all call her so we don't confuse her with Eddie, the Beagle.  Here was one of those situations: "you talking to me or him?"

Addie has come here to learn more about wild foods, so we have been indulging in my favourite past time once again.  We've been eating wild asparagus 'til we were sick (literally in the case of Bart my cousin, who likes it so much here, we can't get rid of him any more...), we've made my Spring Tart, crystalised angelica stems, Everything we could find soup, gorse flower wine, wild salads, etc.  Everything really started growing now as the temperatures slowly creep up.  This week rain is threatening the bits we haven't secured yet, we'll still be busy with this for a while.

Of course we have been sowing the usual things inddors and outdoors, but I won't go into details.  Today we planted 2 new trees though, Franz, the Kaiser pear tree is to replace the pear tree which got washed down the hill by the landslides.  Unlike my other pear trees, this one is a late ripener.  We also planted a new olive tree, a 'Pendolino'.  I was going to christen it Edgar, after EdgarAllen Poe, because of the story The Pit and the Pendulum, but was outvoted by Addie, who wanted to name it after her best friend Bela.  So from now on it shall be introduced as "Bela, you can call him Edgar".

Addie refused to pose with him...

So far our latest update.  Adiie is out as we speak, hunting for some borage to make Ravioli al Boragine... Mmmh!